MY SIDE OF THE STORY

AN ISRAELI TEENS PERSPECTIVE ON THE ISRAELI PALESTINIAN CONFLICT

Growing up as a Jewish - Israeli youth, the ongoing conflict between Israelis
and Palestinians seems to me as if it has gone on forever and will continue to do so.
My whole life I have been asking questions - whats actually going on? Why are we
fighting and how did it start? Will there ever be peace between Israel and Palestine?
My family has always told me that the conflict between Israelis and
Palestinians is very complex and multifaceted, but the main reason behind
disagreements is the dispute about who has the right to the land. Following the
Holocaust, anti-Semitism continued to exist in much of Europe - in combination with
the complete destruction of Jewish communities, those that had survived, like my
grandfather, found themselves deserted and without a homeland. 1 The
establishment of a Jewish State became vital; in 1947, the UN Partition Plan
announced that the territory of Palestine was to be divided into Jewish and Arab
states.2 Because the international community granted Jews the right to a nation
state in Palestine, it is our true right to the land we inhabit and will continue to
inhabit.
Growing up, I always heard about the disrespect that neighbouring nations
had, and continue to have, for Israel as a nation. Immediately following the
formation of the new state Israel, adjacent Arab states that rejected the partition of
Palestine attacked in 1948.3 Israels ultimate victory of this conflict caused many
Palestinian refugees to form terrorist organizations; a danger that still exists today.
The Suez War in 1956, arguably the most important of conflicts, saw a huge change
in governing powers of the Middle East and an improved situation for Israel. 4 The
attainment of the Gaza Strip, a port on the Red Sea, and other successes greatly
improved Israels economy.5 However, after this war, the anti-Israeli terrorist group
1 Postwar Refugee Crisis and the Establishment of the State of Israel." United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council, 20 June 2014. Web. 9 Feb. 2015.

2 "In Depth: Israel and the Palestinians - UN Partition Plan." BBC News. BBC, 29 Nov. 2001. Web. 09
Feb. 2015.

3 Rowan, Beth. "Timeline: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict 19482000." Infoplease. Pearson Education,
n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2015.

4 Jerry Falk. IV. The Cold War and the Middle East. History Twelve | Student Workbook. 3rd ed. Surrey:
Hazelmere, 2013. 165-77. Print.

5 Ibid

PLO was formed under the control of Yassar Arafat. 6 After their establishment,
refugee camps became more prominent; increasing the amount of terrorist attacks
made against Israel for years to come.7 I know this, because my cousin was killed
during a Palestinian suicide bombing.
While its obvious that theres been a lot of conflict, what about peace
efforts? In September 1978, a treaty called the Camp David Accords was signed
between Israel and Egypt; which led to the first peace agreement between Arab
states and Israel the following year. 8 After the agreement, further issues emerged
when Palestinian self-governments replaced Israeli political and military power in
the West Bank and Gaza.9 This occurrence saw the revival of fundamentalist Islamic
Groups, further heightening tensions.10 In 2000, intense negotiations between Prime
Minister Ehud Barak and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat resulted in Israel offering the
Gaza Strip, a large portion of the West Bank, and additional land from the Negev
Desert to the Palestinians.11 However, this was not enough for the greedy
Palestinians; they wanted their pre-1967 borders back something Israel has fought
much too hard for to give up.12
Today, I am witness to the daily intensification of Palestinian-Israeli relations.
During the fall of 2012, the Palestinian terrorist government, Hamas, organized
militant groups to fire rockets into Israel from Gaza. 13 This was an especially scary
time of my childhood, but naturally Israel needed to fight back; the days following,
Israelis targeted Hamas groups in Gaza, which resulted in hundreds more rockets
from Palestinians.14 One of the biggest issues we face as opposing nations today is
6 The Palestinian Liberation Organisation." History Learning Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2015.
7 Ibid
8 "Camp David Accords | Egyptian-Israeli History." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia
Britannica, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2015.

9 Ibid
10 Jerry Falk. IV. The Cold War and the Middle East. History Twelve | Student Workbook. 3rd ed. Surrey:
Hazelmere, 2013. 165-77. Print.

11 "History of Mid-East Peace Talks." BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2015.
12 Ibid
13 Jennie Wood. "Recent History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, 2011Present." Infoplease. Pearson
Education, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

14 Ibid

over the issue of the Two State Solution. My parents, even though they are devout
Zionists, believe that a two state solution would be the best way to establish peace.
However, we simply cannot agree to pre-1967 borders; its our rightful homeland!
As both Israeli and Palestinian Presidents publicly support the idea of two states, as I
mentioned earlier, an agreement cannot be come to between us two states. 15 Until
Palestine starts respecting us, can eradicate their terrorist government, and accept
Israel as a nation state, how are we to agree on dividing the land fairly? One day in
the future, I hope that I will be able to speak of the Israel-Palestine conflict in the
past tense.

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